14 to 27 December 2015
One of my aims of the trip had been to learn kitesurfing in Cumbuco, the kitesurfing Mecca in the north of Brazil, close to Fortaleza. The conditions there are ideal in the season from August to December: a steady strong wind blows almost all days up the coast. Sometimes it wasn’t there in the early mornings, but then started as if someone had switched on a hairdryer.
My friend Muna had introduced me to Pauline, a former Kitesurf champion from Hossegor, France, who has been living and teaching in Cumbuco for years now. For the two weeks I was there, I saw her nearly everyday for my two to three hour lesson. Pauline was very patient, even when I nearly broke the kite on my second day and we had to swim back with the deflated kite 300m to the shore. I found controlling the kite very difficult, I was scared of the force it develops in the air. Because you are attached to it, it can lift or drag you if you do the wrong thing. Being scared is never a good thing when learning a new sport! In the end I got to a level where I can stand up on the board and go from one side to the other. I now have to practise a lot to get to a comfortable level and buy my own kite equipment. Maybe I will get chance back home at the English coast.
The rest of my time in Cumbuco I was either lazing around at the pool of my Pousada or lazing around in one of the beach bars. Sometimes I went for a run at the beach. In the evenings I went for dinner in one of the four great restaurants in Cumbuco: Surf Spot, Muda, Exil, Castanha. It seems as if the whole atmosphere of Cumbuco dragged me into this completely chilled out, slow lifestyle. I had wanted to catch up on my blog, but as you can see I just fell further behind.
Cumbuco is a weird place, a kind of Wild West. You have the Europeans and Argentinians, who come here for the Kitesurf and some of them stay and build up successful businesses like Pauline’s Kitesurf school, the Surf Spot restaurant run by a Slovenian couple, the 0031 Pousada run by a Dutch couple, the Durobeach hotel and bar run by an Argentinian. Then you have the Brazilians who are employed in those businesses as teachers, chefs, barmen etc. On top of that are the Korean workers who have been sent to build and now work in the nearby huge steel plant. They and the tourists are served by numerous prostitutes who flock the local bars in the night, especially at the weekend. The days are hot and windy. The town is dusty and full of bad smelling rubbish (though not as bad as what I experienced in Tunisia last year).
But it was wonderful to stroll to the main square in the midday heat to eat an Acai, a kind of Brazilian berry ice shake, to enjoy a cool beer whilst sunk into a bean bag at the beach bar and spend time with the wonderful people I met. I already mentioned Pauline, but there were also Carola and Ricardo, the other two solo travellers staying at my Pousada. Carola is an Argentinian lawyer, who was taking kitesurfing lessons just like me. Ricardo is a pilot and has been kitesurfing for years. We talked a lot about food, travels, the beauty of Italy, Buenos Aires, rules and contracts. One Saturday evening after drinks, Carola and I ventured into the local club, but only managed to stay five minutes. The place had an awful smell and the music and people were even weirder than the normal Cumbuco mix.
Ricardo and Carola had left by Christmas and I booked myself a place at the three course Christmas Eve dinner at the 0031 Pousada run by a Dutch couple. I was seated at a table with three Dutch guys. One of them, Rene, I knew because we had been on a Kitesurf trip together with Pauline and her boyfriend that day to the Lagoinha laguna. The other two were from Amsterdam and also great fun. I maintain that the Dutch never disappoint.
On Boxing Day I finally left Cumbuco and went north to Jericoacoara, a must when in Brazil. It is located in a nature reserve with huge sand dunes and famous for watching the sunset. The town is built on sand and there are no tarmacked streets. Despite its beauty and laidback atmosphere, I only stayed for 24 hours. I decided to go to Rio de Janeiro (see previous blog Rio Rausch).
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